A Warrior's Journey Triology: The Way
by The Phantom Dragon
Summary: What does it take to become a warrior of the highest decree when the darkness is all you have.
1. prologue

_**Editors note**_

_**Although I almost got to the point where I never wanted to hear the name Nicholas Tse again(aren't sisters are so much fun when it comes to celebrity crushes) the movies are so much fun I couldn't help coming up with something.**_

_**so here goes**_

**Prologue**

Blood.

There's too much of it. Rivers of crimson gliding, stealing…

_No, no, NO. Not like this. _

Hands, pale and clean, reached up to cover bruised and stained ones_. Stained with the blood of innocence!_

"Not your fault." The weak gasp almost crashing through carefully crafted walls. "Did your best…" _Blood of innocence._

Not supposed to be like this. Should be the one lying there instead.

Clawing, fighting the flow. "You're gonna be Ok. It's Ok." Another lie. You know it.

You've been here before. It's too late, the battle is lost. _You_ have lost.

_No! I have not lost. Not yet. Not this time._

"Promise me." The plea is weaker now, distracting from the thief that is slowly stealing the life before you, drop by agonizing drop.

You gaze into those eyes, so young, so beautiful, so _pure. _The pain there is strong but nothing like the torture consuming its way through every molecule of your existence.

This is your fault. It's always your fault. You always bring the darkness. Now innocence suffers for your sins.

The hands tighten softly over your own. "Promise…" the whisper is a breath almost too far gone to be real. "Promise." Shaking fingers wipe at the red that accompanies this gasping cough.

The light is dimming. Soon it will leave you. In the dark. Where you belong.

"I…" gasps for air almost as weak as the other's. "I…promise."

Don't know what it means. Don't care. Just let the light stay a little longer. Maybe that tiny length with be what it needs to keep going.

Please.

Eyes close in gratitude, giving utterance to the tears that have lurked there, no more need to hold them back.

"No… please." Don't care that it comes as a whimper. Beyond caring now.

"It's Ok." Almost gone. Almost out of reach. That smile is almost enough to destroy you. Not yet. Have to keep fighting. If you don't there will be nothing left.

"I…"

The gasping rattle steals the rest. Whatever was to follow will never come.

You sit back; fall back. Oblivion rushes to take you but is held back at the last possible second. Its merciful nothingness is denied to you.

You don't deserve peace. You have brought this upon yourself. You were weak. Now you sit alone as the darkness glides along with unhurried glee to fold you in its depths.

And this time there is no light to stop it.


	2. Chapter I:Win and Lose

**CHAPTER 1: WIN AND LOSE**

Rock twisted out of the way of his opponent's fist while at the same time swinging his arm down to shove him of the table.

A groan rose from the crowd of students peering through the windows as his opponent, Panther, crashed into the wall and slid onto the floor. He had won. AGAIN.

Panther glared up at him from where he lay sprawled on the classroom floor when a voice rang out above the cheers of the other students.

"Ha ha, you fall you lose."

Panther glared at the crowd in hope of identifying the offending taunter, but no one stood out. He had to admit he had lost or else lose face, so he stood and addressed Rock," I was wrong, you really are the Fight King."

With that he grabbed his shoes and left the room.

Rock watched him go before getting off the tables to put his shoes back on.

It was the last day of school, which meant it that if his luck held, he would not have to fight for two months, unless some idiot decided to come after him during the holidays.

He got up and left the room without a word. Most of the other students had left by now, those that were still hanging around cleared out of his way when they saw him. It was the same on the rest of the floors on the way down. No one dared talk to him, although his exit was punctuated by whispers and fearful glances.

It was always this way. He won every fight, except one. The battle for himself, to be seen as the person he truly was. No matter what he did, it was the one victory that life dangled just beyond his reach.

So the pile of beaten opponents continued to mount. While the heart of his being screamed its frustration and anger. Life dictated this be the one fulfillment that would never be granted him.

A war he was forever condemned to lose.

_**review please**_


	3. Chapter II: Going Through The Motions

**Chapter 2: Going Through The Motions  
**

_Go to sleep bitch!  
Die, motherfucker, die! Ugh, time's up, bitch, close ya eyes  
Go to sleep, bitch! (what?)  
Why are you still alive? How many times I gotta tell ya, close ya eyes?  
And go to sleep bitch! (what?)  
Die motherfucker die, bye, bye, motherfucker, bye, bye!  
Go to sleep bitch! (what?)  
Why are you still alive? Why, die motherfucker, ah, ah, ah...  
...Go to sleep bitch!_

The song cut through the dark and pierced the sleepy haze that enveloped Alex's mind, dragging her into a state of semi consciousness. With a groan she rolled over and reached a hand through the curtains around her bed, groping for the offending player of the song. Her hand came in contact with her mobile and pulled it to her face in order to check the time.

The screen showed 6:30, she groaned and shut it of before dumping it between the headboard and pillow next to her, before rolling over again and burying her head under her pillow in an attempt to go back to sleep.

She had no sooner done so, than another song blared out of the speakers on the other side of the room.

I can't escape this hell  
So many times I've tried  
But I'm still caged inside  
Somebody get me through this nightmare  
I can't control myself

So what if you can see  
The darkest side of me?  
No one will ever change this animal I have become!  
Help me believe it's not the real me  
Somebody help me tame this animal  
(This animal, This animal).

This new intrusion on the previously tranquil room was all it took to kick start Alex brain into a full, though extremely sulky, state of consciousness.

She sighed and sat up for a stretch before crawling over to the far side of the large king size bed to rip back the black silk curtains that surrounded it. Instantly she was almost blinded by the bright sunlight that pored into her room through the glass French doors.

With another groan and a small string of curses that alternated between English, Cantonese, Chinese, and Japanese, she hauled herself out of the bed and across the room to lower the sound on the now blaring speakers before her hearing became permanently damaged.

After getting the sound volume down to a reasonable level, she proceeded to stretch her limbs and ruffle her unruly hair into an even larger mess. She still felt sulky and so decided to go for a breather.

Shutting off the air-conditioning, she flung open the large double doors that led onto her balcony. Stepping out, she closed her eyes to block out the light and breathed deeply of the warm late summer air that was tinged with the smell of flowers and freshly mowed grass from the large garden below.

Lowering her face from its upward position toward the sky, she gazed out over the bay to the main metropolis and from her position on the balcony she had an almost perfect view of the city that she had called home for almost fourteen years.

Now that she was fully awake and in a better mood she returned to her room.

She instantly scowled at the laptop connected to the speakers, which for some reason where now pounding out Kenny Loggins' Danger Zone. She was quite positive she had never added that to her play lists. With a small exclamation and a roll of her eyes she reached over and deleted it, then stretched her arms over her head while simultaneously turning around to survey her room, her eyes coming to a stop on a school uniform that consisted of a white button up T-shirt with the school emblem on the left side, gray dress pants, and a black tie that hung over the arm of her couch.

She kicked herself mentally for having forgotten today was the first day of school.

_Ah well,_ she mused,_ at least it's Friday and it's just going to be introductory mostly, so I don't have to do any homework tonight. Thank God, _she consoled herself.

Yanking out her hair bobble, she strode toward the bathroom while retying her hair up into a half ponytail, stripping off her tee shirt and boxers she into the shower stall for a quick rinse.

After drying off and pulling her boxers back on she returned to her room and pulled on a black sports bra and sweatshirt. Dropping into a large, ornately carved, oak chair, in front of an enormous and equally elegantly carved dresser, she threw on deodorant and cologne before once again pulling her bobble out to begin the battle with the tangles that had accumulated during the night.

After getting her hair back to their normal, slightly curled, auburn state, instead of a ball of brown fuzz as it sometimes did, she finished dressing and opened a drawer to the bottom left of the large mirror, picked out three small silver hoops, a minuscule scorpion of the same metal, a and a small, ruby Chinese dragon with diamonds for eyes and a golden tail spike that formed the ear stud. Sliding the draw back she opened the larger on under the desktop to retrieve a gold circle containing a dragon hanging on a chain, which she held against her neck to see the effect it caused with her uniform before it went on.

A leather wristband watch went on her right wrist and a chain of considerable length was wrapped around her left. The only rings she wore were a thin band of platinum crafted to look like two wolf heads holding a small blood ruby star between their jaws on her left ring finger and a large, stainless steel scorpion, whose tail whipped over so it's stinger stuck to it's back, creating an arch with the tail; harmless enough to the untrained eye, but in reality the edges of that tail had been sharpened to a lethal edge, turning it into a tiny dagger, the segments of the tail forming a biting edge that would snag onto whatever it was slashed with, on her right middle finger.

A black hoody completed the outfit.

Standing in front of the large dresser mirror, she scrutinized the effect the accessories and black jacket had on the simple school uniform. She didn't care how she looked in general; the basic rule she had used in clothes was simply wear what ever felt comfortable, but not today.

Switching off the speakers and laptop, she kicked a pillow that had fallen on the floor and decided she just didn't have the time to clean her room today, after all that was originally the maid's job.

Grabbing a pair of black socks, she opened a small drawer at the top of her mirror that had been carved in the shape of a dragon's head, pulled out a thin chain and placed it around her neck under her school shirt. Giving herself one last check in the mirror and left the room.

Alex strolled casually into the kitchen to see her seven-year-old brother already seated at the kitchen island counter munching his way through the contents of his plate.

"Mornin' Al," he greeted her cheerfully through a mouthful of bacon and eggs.

" Morning Kenny," she managed a half smile at him before pulling the chair at the opposite corner of the counter out with her toe and dropped into it just as their butler, Lawrence, stuck a plate in front of her.

"Your brother called last night but you were already asleep," Lawrence, informed them as he began to fill Alex's plate with bacon. "He asked for you to call him as soon as you woke up."

"What time did he call," Alex asked as she poked at the eggs Lawrence added to her plate.

"A little past eleven."

"What!" Alex jerked her head in his direction and immediately regretted it as a piece of egg she was swallowing at the time went down the wrong way and she began choking in an attempt to dislodge the offending item.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she wheezed out in between coughs.

"Because I thought you were asleep." Lawrence stated simply. "Your light was of," he added when Alex scowled at him.

"You could have checked. Just because you can't see alight under the door doesn't mean I'm asleep!" Alex growled. Lawrence had a habit of judging if she was awake or not by simply checking if there was a light on in her room. A method that she had told him constantly was ineffective since her room had several lights that were either to dim or placed so as not to be seen under the door. Not to mention the fact that she often read with the curtains pulled closed around her bed.

"Where is he?" Kenny asked.

"He's in Beijing," Lawrence replied, glad for a reason to avert his attention from Alex's smoldering gaze He knew she was mad. After all, why shouldn't she be? Her brother was rarely home due to his work and his phone calls had become more infrequent recently due to problems that had come up in the company that demanded his attention. Every moment her brother had to spare for his two younger siblings was precious to both them, but all the more so to Alex.

He was quickly brought back from his musings when he felt Alex's icy glare fixed on him. He turned away and headed to the counter to fill a large mug with thick black coffee, which he set down in front of her before returning to the counter for two more mugs with hot chocolate, aware of the fact that her gaze never left him.

She waited until he had put the mugs down before perusing the matter again.

"How many times do I have to tell u it doesn't matter if it's 3 in the morning when he calls, you wake me up, damn it," there was no way on earth she was letting him of this time around.

"Maybe cause you might not wake up for school on time," Kenny smirked at her.

Her response to this was a killer glare that would have warned anyone who saw it to put a sock in it and run like all hell was on their heels. Except that Kenny, for one thing, was not looking at her, but was gleefully pounding in the numbers on the visual phone situated at the end of the table and was not paying the least amount of attention to her, and second, growing up with her had taught him just how far he could push his luck before she lost it.

"My apologies Alex," Lawrence offered from where he stood by the sink washing the frying pan.

Alex just growled into her mug and continued munching while glaring daggers at the two of them.

At that moment the other end of the phone was picked up.

"So you guys are finally up," the deep male voice emitting from the speakers filled the room.

"Morning Mike," Alex and Kenny piped in unison.

"'Ello you two numskulls."

"Not sounding to bright yourself knuckle head," Alex replied grumbled.

"Hey can you guys hang up and call the office, my battery's about to run out."

"Sure thing," Kenny replied cheerfully.

Alex grunted by way of reply, punched the hang up button, and leaned back in her chair to wait for her brother to redial, only to get her hand slobbered on by something large, warm, and very wet.

"Hey boy," she sighed and looked down to see Strážce, her gray Alaskan wolf, sitting by her chair, staring at her with his large golden eyes. She allowed a small smile to touch her lips as he stood and placed his large head in her lap.

"Where're Bwgan and Nghythraul," she asked him while absentmindedly scratching between his ears.

Her question was answered as Bwgan, a large, white female Arctic wolf with similar golden orbs, and Nghythraul, a black Siberian male yearling, with a white band across his chest and icy blue eyes, entered the kitchen.

"They know when they're wanted," Lawrence commented as he dug a bag of dog food out of a cupboard and dragged it over to the large food bowls in the corner of the room.

Alex frowned but did not bother to respond to this, she knew he was referring to the fact the presence of her pets almost always seemed to calm her temper no matter how bad it was. But still, it annoyed her for him to mention it.

"Drak Asterisk enterprises, how may I help you?"

Alex barely managed to keep herself from growling at the prim secretary who had answered Kenny's call; this was not going to be one of her better days.

"Ling, it's us," Kenny chirped happily.

"Oh, good morning Kenny," Ling responded in like manner," your brother has been asking if you had called for the last two hours."

The two siblings glanced at each other with raised eyebrows and Alex shrugged her shoulders at this strange piece of information. Normally Mike was very cool and patient in regards to most things.

"What took you guys so long? You weren't planning on skipping school were you?" Mike teased when he picked up after Lin notified him.

"Is that why you were so impatient for us to call back," Kenny said with a large cheesy grin.

"Sorry to disappoint," Alex's eyes gleamed with sarcastic amusement, "but now that you mentioned it, that's not a bad idea."

"Don't you even dare think about it!" Mike chuckled back.

"Awwww come on bro do we have to go, we already did last year," Kenny whined.

Alex snorted, it was an ongoing joke between her brothers ever since Kenny had started school.

"Yes you do. And if you think pulling faces is going to change that, sorry to disappoint," was Mike's casual response. However, Alex could see the corners of his mouth twitching slightly. If she didn't do something soon, the conversation would turn into a literal battle of wits and crazy expressions, which was the last thing she needed right now.

"How are the negotiations going?" Of the point, she knew, but it was the first thing that popped into her head.

"It's OK. We have permission for the stores here in Beijing; but the black ties are pulling out a shit load of red tape for the factory in Shenzhen. And I thought Germany was a pain in the rear," he grouched before narrowing his eyes slightly. " But I hope YOUR not planning on skipping school, are you," he emphasized the last part with a raise of his eyebrows.

Alex sighed and tilted her head while running a hand through her hair. "Ha ha ha Mike, very funny," she paused to roll her eyes before continuing. "Besides what would I do all day when everyone else is in school?"

"You know what you would do," he stated softly in Japanese.

Alex frowned at this change in language but responded in like manner, "So what if I did, you wanted to do the same thing after it happened."

Kenny looked at her questioningly as her tone lowered and turned icy. The only time the two used Japanese was when they didn't want him to understand their conversation. His head swung from one to the other.

"I though we discussed this before I left. You will not do anything if I am not there; unless it is necessary," was the cool reply.

"Oh you don't need to worry," was her equally chilly response.

"I swore an oath. Or have you forgotten so quickly," her voice dropped to a frozen whisper and her eyes glazed slightly as she stared into the distance. "But then again, I wouldn't expect you to remember something so trivial."

Even Kenny, who couldn't understand, winced at the coldness in her response.

"You know I didn't mean it like that," Mike tried to reason with her. "It's just, I'm worried about you. I'm not there as much as I wish I could be, and I know how impulsive you can be some times."

"Don't worry Mike," Alex said and crossed her arms before continuing, "I know what I'm doing. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself, or have you forgotten that as well?"

Mike threw his hands up in resignation and placed them behind his head as he leaned back in his chair. "OK, OK I get your point. Yes I know you can take care of yourself and Kenny. But please, Al, be careful. If anything happened to either of you, I would never be able to forgive myself."

"Yeah Mike, I know," she snorted. "Just make sure I don't have to drag my as up there to dig you out anytime soon."

Mike nodded before changing back to English. "So, exactly what's the deal with this new school your going to."

"I told you already, it's the same one mom went to."

"Hmmm, that's not very informative is it?" Mike mused, but said no more.

Alex the barest suggestion to squirm in her seat but ignored it. She hadn't been completely honest; but she hadn't lied either. She had just, simply, not told him the whole truth.

Just then a knock was heard from the other end of the line. Mike called for who ever it was to come in. Alex scowled when the voice of Lin was heard in the background, informed Mike that the authorities had arrived for the business meeting.

Mike thanked here and turned back to the screen. " Sorry, about that, " he apologized.

Alex glanced at the kitchen clock and swore. "Yeah and we gotta get to school. I need to be there before 7."

"Well what are you waiting for?" Kenny piped up, eager to make his presence reestablished. "The sooner ya finish, the sooner you can come home."

Both of his older siblings raised their eyebrows at this, but decided not to comment.

"If you say so Ken. Be good for your sister and stay out of trouble. Al, same goes for you."

" I know. Enough already.' Alex cranked, "Jeez."

Mike flashed a cheesy grin and bobbed his eyebrows at her. "What's the point of being a million dollar playboy if I can't have a little fun in life."

That got the reaction he was hoping for. Alex cracked a small grin. She knew him too well. He may have been a bit wild in his teen years, but he was no more a playboy than she was Cinderella.

"Okydokey you guys I gotta go. Oh and Alex, Lawrence told me last night that you were letting Kenny watch movies not suited for him. Is this true?"

"Oh COME ON Mike," Alex whined, "it's not my problem if Lawrence is old fashioned. You know, I'm starting to suspect the reason he never wakes me up for your calls past a certain time is cause he thinks I shouldn't be up past 10. You just had to hire a _British _butler."

Mike tried not to laugh and held up his hands in protest. "Hey it was dad who hired him. I just kept him."

He smiled. No matter how much his younger siblings might complain and no matter how old-fashioned Lawrence could be, there was no denying it. Lawrence was a part of the family. He had stuck with them through thick and thin as they grew up, and they had come to think of him as a sort of adopted uncle. Even if he was old fashioned, life would never be the same if he left.

"What movie was it?"

"Barely Legal."

"WHAT!"

Alex allowed herself to enjoy the rare moment, Mike was _very_ hard to shock

"Mike," she began in a patronizing voice, "Kenny is getting older. Don't you think it's time he learned about growing up? After all he'll learn it eventually whether you want him to or not."

"Ha ha ah ha Al. Not funny. Now what movie was it?" He demanded.

"It was Blade Trinity."

"I would think with all the stuff you get up to that Lawrence would find a movie like that a scratch on the surface of the pile."

"Hey like I said, he's getting old fashioned." Alex shrugged.

"I know. But if you ever show that kind of stuff to him before he's old enough, I'll …"

"Mike," Alex protested, "may I be the on to burst your oh so perfect image bubble with reminders of what mom found in your room at that age? Although he did think American Pie was amusing."

"You . . ."

"Just kidding."

"Alright, that's enough. You need to get to school and I need to get this meeting over with."

"Awwww," Kenny whined, "just when things were getting fun."

"We can have more fun when I get home Ken. But right now you have school to go to and I have work that needs doing." Mike scowled.

"Now, be good for your sister and try to make sure she doesn't get in to too much trouble." Although with Alex's history he was pretty sure there was little Kenny would be able to do if she decided to do something she shouldn't. The boy may have been mature beyond his years, but he was no match for his sister. When she put her mind to something, practically nothing could stop her. He could only hope Kenny would be able to influence her enough to keep her out of any real danger.

"Mike I can take care of myself, thank you." Alex growled.

He simply grinned, "Alex, no mater how old you get you will always be my little sister."

"Mike, keep this up, I swear, once my time is done, I will find the biggest group of gang members I can and tear them all to shreds." was the hissed response.

While this was said in fun, Mike knew it was a very real possibility she might carry out her threat, she had done so several times before.

"Alex …"

"Ah don't worry. I'll save you a big one."

"Keep this up and I'll have to send you back to the States." He sighed and stood up, "lucky for you I'm over two thousand miles away and to lazy to come get you right now."

"To lazy or to busy Mike?" Alex asked with a serious expression.

"Definitely not to busy to come back and whip your ass." He laughed. "But seriously, I gotta go. These guys are not exactlywinning any patience awards any time soon and it already took forever to get an appointment, so I really, really gotta get a move on."

The two younger siblings nodded in understanding. And after a quick goodbye, Mike hung up.

"Well, what was that all about?' Kenny asked.

Alex knew what he was asking about, but chose to ignore the question and instead cram down the now cold food on her plate.

"Allleeeex?" Kenny said in his favorite ghost tone.

"Finish your food or we'll be late." Alex ordered as she rose and dumped her dishes in the sink before heading back to her room to retrieve her cell phone and wallet.

As she entered her room, a small ball of black fur fairly flew off her bed and smacked into her shins, HARD.

"Hey Acharya," she greeted the panther cub, for that was what the ball was.

At seven months, Acharya was almost size of a full-grown house cat, but was a lot faster and was more like a miniature battering ram than a soft cuddly pet. But then again, when had Alex ever wanted soft cuddly pets.

When she was six, she had had a pet python that would have reached four feet. Except her dad decided to get rid of it after it got bored of being constantly tied into knots for the fun of watching it untie it's self and decided Alex would make a fair sized meal.

She located her phone and its case, but when she went to clip it on she realized she had forgotten to put on a belt.

Muttering curses from her large inventory, she dragged herself to the large walk in closet and riffled for a moment before pulling two belts off their hooks.

"Which do you think I should wear," she asked the fuzz ball that had attached its teeth to the edge of her pants and was now trying to get away without unclamping its jaws from the fabric. She held up the two belts for emphasis.

Acharya's small teeth lost their hold on her pants and he rolled back over himself, but was quick to recover and attacked the braided black leather belt with a silver, steer scull buckle.

"Hmmm, you sure?" Alex asked as she swung the afor mentioned belt back and forth in an attempt to dislodge Acharya before he did any damage to it. However, despite his small size, the baby panther was already quite strong and was as determined to keep his hold on the belt as his master was to get him to stop.

Alex groaned and kneeling on the floor, began hauling Acharya in like a fish in hopes of getting him close enough to grab so she could pry his teeth off the belt.

This worked for about seven seconds before Acharya decided to dig his nails into the floor; forcing Alex to have to slide forward on her knees while wrapping the belt around her hand so as not to make scratches in the wood by dragging his nails over the polished surface.

"Come here you little pesk," Alex grinned as she finally got close enough that she could grab him around the middle and pulled him onto her lap.

"Come on," she sighed in annoyance, "let it go." She tried coaxing him into doing so by holding the scruff of his neck and vigorously shaking the belt up and down; it didn't work.

Finally she grasped his head in her left palm and gently pressed the joints of his jaw while using her right thumb and index finger as levers to pry his teeth apart. He growled, but she persisted and finally managed to get his teeth apart wide enough to shove her fingers in his mouth and hold it open while she extracted the belt.

"Do you mind," she asked, reaching over to tickle Acharya's tummy as he rolled off her lap and onto the floor with all four paws in the air. He whined softy before rolling out from under her hand and ran off to play with the other belt she had dropped behind her.

"So you think I should wear this one?"

The belt in question was plain leather with a small, metal plate buckle that had been etched to depict a wolf seated on some rocks on the edge of a forest, with it's head raised in a howl to the moon.

"Yeah I think this will do, the other one is to fancy for the uniform." Alex said as she snatched the item before Acharya had a chance for a repeat performance.

Threading the belt into place, she was forced to avoid Acharya's playful pounces to her feet as she searched for her wallet, which, thanks to her pets, was almost never where she had left it.

Finally, after five unfruitful minutes, which included crawling under her bed and moving half the contents of her vast closet, she found it behind her TV.

Clipping the wallet chain to her belt while almost dancing in place in order to avoid Acharya's new assault on her socks drained the last of her recently acquired patience and she muttered several choice words that would have given Lawrence a heart attack had he heard them.

Finally satisfied she had everything; she reached down and expertly latched her hand onto the scruff of Acharya's neck, swung him up and caught him in her arms. Grabbing a worn, camouflage backpack of the couch, she left her room and headed for the front entrance where Kenny was pulling on his tennis shoes.

Grabbing a pair of black combat boots from the shoe cabinet, she then sat where the carpet ended before the floor dropped two inches to the entrance tiles. Placing Acharya on the ground next to her; she proceeded to pull on her boots while Kenny leaned over to wave an untied shoestring just out of her pets reach.

Finished with lacing up her own shoes, Alex stood, snatched up Acharya again, while simultaneously grabbing hold of Kenny's knee and shoving him back toward the low bench against the wall.

"Get your shoes on," she ordered, "Lawrence is waiting."

Grumbling slightly, Kenny obeyed before jumping to his feet and snatching Acharya from his sister's arms.

"Hey." Alex protested to the treatment of her pet.

"Your not planning to take him to school are you?' Kenny asked, sounding shocked.

Alex simply rolled her eyes, snatched Acharya back, placed him on the floor, and rolled him over so she could tickle his belly.

"Yeah, what happened to we're gonna be late." Kenny grouched.

Alex rolled her eyes, gave Acharya one more scratch between the ears, grabbed her bag, and walked out. Not stopping to look back to see if her brother followed, she ran down to where Lawrence waited at the foot of the grand staircase.

As she reached the driveway, Lawrence moved to open the back door. Putting on a burst of speed she reached it before he could and hoped in but left the door open for Kenny who was now pelting after her.

Lawrence shrugged his shoulders and closed the door as Kenny sat across from Alex facing the back of the car, got behind the wheel and pulled out down the long driveway without a word.

She knew he was probably observing her in the rearview mirror but chose to ignore him and to enjoy the remaining few minutes of quite before they reached the city instead. After rolling down the window to allow the warm breeze to enter, she lay back in an attempt to catch a few more minutes' sleep before she got stuck in a stuffy classroom with an entourage of new classmates to stare at her for the rest of the day. In a few minutes she was out cold.

Alex was hauled back into the realm of the living by the sound of the door opening and was instantly alert.

She watched as Kenny shoved the door open before Lawrence had even stopped the car and was out the second it halted in front of the elementary school . Technically they were allowed to drive all the way to the front of the building, but it was an unnecessary waist of time they never bothered with. Besides which, Kenny enjoyed racing his friends from the gate to the entrance.

"See ya." Kenny said cheerfully but received no response. He shrugged grabbed his school bag and ran to meet his best friend Wang ,who had been waiting for him.

Without a word, Lawrence closed the door, got back in, and pulled out onto the road.

From under her hood, Alex's eyes followed the retreating figure that was her younger brother until he disappeared from her sight before they refocused on the spot he had occupied moments earlier.

Seven years. Seven long years since she had been able to run free like that, without a care in the world.

Had it really been that long.

Old memories flooded back to her with that thought. Happy memories of a time when she had been like similarly young and innocent.

Huh, innocent. That was a laugh.

It would never be. She had moved on with no turning back.

_Ah well. _She mused. _No sense in dwelling on it._ With that in mind, she stretched and yawned.

"How long till we get there?" she asked.

"Five minutes." He glanced at her in the mirror. "Are you sure you explained the details.."

"Would I be going if Mike didn't know the details." She challenged.

Lawrence wisely shut up and instead concentrated on maneuvering past a particularly idiotic driver that was blocking the lane in front of them. Leaving Alex to stew in her thoughts.

Resting her head on the back of the seat, she mentally reviewed the earlier conversation with her older sibling.

God damn it, she hadn't been able to come up with one good excuse for wanting to go there, other than that her mother had gone there. She had simply had to settle for not telling him everything. Hell, she could just imagine his reaction if he knew exactly where she was going to study.

She started dozing again and didn't notice they had arrived until Lawrence opened the door and called her name.

Shaking herself, she grabbed her bag, climbed out of the car and took in her surroundings.

They where in a lower class neighborhood, something she was more than used to, and something Lawrence did _not_ approve of but was wise enough not to comment on as it would achieve nothing more than to worsen his Boss's already short temper.

Turning to face the school she looked up at the sign over the gate. It read Ting Bing Sing Memorial High School. TBS to it's inmates, as Alex enjoyed referred to the occupants of all government institutions.

Without turning, she called dryly, "I don't know what I'll be doing after school. So don't bother picking me up unless I call."

With that, she shouldered her bag and slouched casually through the looming gates.

She didn't care if Lawrence replied or what he thought about her choice of educational institutions. Life already had it's plan for her, she was just going through the motions.

* * *

cmon review


	4. Chapter IV:New Kid

**Chapter 3: NEW KID**

Rock sat on the trunk of the dead tree that lay in the dust of the schoolyard and observed the new students as they entered. Many looked apprehensive and not a few were just plain scared. Clearly they had heard of the school's reputation and no doubt wondered if they would even survive their first week.

Same old, same old. Well they would have to learn quickly because no doubt more than one would be challenged by the end of the day. Not that he would be one of the bloodsuckers doing the challenging. He only fought experienced opponents, and even then they would have to challenge him to get him in the ring.

He just hoped none of them got killed. The last time a kid had died in a fight they had all been subject to police scrutiny for a month after; definitely not something anyone wished to see a repeat performance of.

Problem was getting the older students to go easy on them; to show mercy in a fight was to show weakness as far as most of them were concerned. And quite a few of the older guys simply lived to torture anyone weaker than them.

_Ah well, not gonna do much good sitting here, _he decided.

Standing to brush the back of his pants as he turned to head off to his first class, he noticed something black moving out of the corner of his eye. Turning his head he saw it was another student, he had never seen this one before but he was instantly aware that this one was different from the others.

The kid was tall, maybe around his height from what he could tell at this distance, and wearing pants which meant it was a guy, the girls in this school wore those disgusting grey skirts. His features were indistinguishable due to the fact that he wore a black jacket with the hood pulled down low which hid most of the upper part of his face, something the kids wouldn't do here as it gave the impression of hiding from the other students.

The kid slouched and shuffled his feet for a moment before heading off to where the teachers offices where located. His gait instantly niggled something in Rock's fighting instincts. Despite the way the guy was slouching with a 'I really couldn't care less' sort of air, the way he walked reminded Rock of the predators he'd seen on TV stalking their prey. Each stride was graceful as well as powerful, and completely silent.

He was wearing combat boots, which, no matter how good the person was at walking, should have caused each step to sound on the hard packed dirt courtyard. Even when he reached the concrete walkway that ran around the yard in front of the rooms Rock couldn't hear a thing, the rustle of his bag and clothes rubbing against each other was absent. And Rock's hearing was a lot better than most people he knew.

He watched in interest as the new kid approached the stairs just as Da Dong, another senior student, came down them.

Da Dong came off the bottom step at the same time as the new kid reached it. Both teens stopped in their tracks. Rock couldn't help wondering what the other kid was thinking at the moment.

Da Dong was one of the next best fighters after Rock and was quite good at intimidating others. He was into the habit of wearing a black leather jacket with metal studs on the shoulders and was always lugging around his black bike helmet which had long thin spikes on it like a mohawk. To complete the intimidation act, he was currently accompanied by two of his gang, which was made up of most of his class. And right now he looked pissed.

The new guy tried to sidestep him, but one of the thugs shoved him back. "Hey bitch; don't you know who we are?"

The kid tilted his head slightly before monotonely. "Ummm, yesterdays road kill revived minus its brain?"

Rock almost choked on the laugh that threatened to slip out at the look on the two sidekick's faces when they heard the blatant insult.

"Why you…"

The first thug reached for the kid, but was stopped by Da Dong who eyed the newbie with what looked like something between a smirk and a sneer pulling on the corners of his mouth and a slight gleam in his eyes. "What's your name," he drawled.

The kid just stood there and said nothing.

"What! No smart comments for me?" Da Dong taunted. All he got for his effort was silence. "Are you just gonna stand there all day and say nothing?"

Rock rolled his eyes. Da Dong was none too bright in the body language area. Rock didn't need to see the new kid's face to know that Da Dong would have gotten more response from his shoes than from this kid.

And it would probably have been a good idea to not stand so close to the guy. Despite the slouching, Rock could see the defiance in the way the boy stood like a coiled snake waiting for its prey to make the first move. He would be very interested to see what would happen if Da Dong or one of his boys challenged the kid.

Bored of standing and waiting for a response that he finally figured out was not coming; the thug on Da Dong's left, Ah Quinn, if Rock's memory was correct, stepped around his leader and reached for the kid. It was the wrong choice.

As soon as the Ah Quinn came up even with Da Dong, the kid made his move. With lightning speed he stepped on Ah Quinn's foot and, using his own heel as a pivot on which to turn, spun around so that he ended up behind Ah Quinn

For a moment, all three antagonists were too stunned to do anything. Then Ah Quinn roared, more from rage at the nerve of the guy than from the pain of having his foot spun on. He turned and charged, but was brought up short by Da Dong, who grabbed his arm and hauled him back.

"Get back here you little coward." Ah Quinn howled after the retreating teenager.

As Rock guessed he would, the kid didn't bother to answer. Instead he raised his right hand over his shoulder and extended his middle finger.

At this act of defiance, Ah Quinn's face turned deep crimson and he tried to lunge forward again. Unfortunately, he forgot about Da Dong, who still held his upper arm, causing him to topple over under his own momentum. Ah Quinn glared at Da Dong, and Rock was pretty sure he was about to start yelling, when Da Dong raised his eyebrows and stuck his chin out, an expression he often used when one of his followers decided to question his decision.

Ah Quinn settled down, and instead opted for glaring daggers at the back of the kid's head, before following Da Dong to their classroom.

Rock mentally congratulated the kid for the way he handled the situation, but winced at the thought of what was to follow. Ah Quinn was one of the most violent kids in this school and took no little pleasure in afflicting those weaker than him. The kid might not be easily intimidated, but it had yet to be seen how he performed in the ring. Rock was ready to bet that before the first period was over, Ah Quinn would have tracked down and challenged him.

He watched until the kid reached the principal's office before heading off to his classroom on the second floor.

This was going to be an interesting day.


End file.
